Still not quite over jet lag, I wake up at 4:00am. The sun is just coming up (we are one week from 24-hour sunlight) and there is a gorgeous view of the mountains at the entry to the Geiranger fjord, truly stunning. While I couldn’t really sleep more, I rested and got up every so often to look out at the incredible views. About 6:00 I woke Barney so he could see our entry into the fjord, and by this time it was bright and sunny, with the waterfalls gushing. We decided to have breakfast in the room and got to watch the sail into Geiranger from the veranda, which was truly special. We watched them extend the 3-part walkway from the dock which allows direct access to the ship, which save the time of having to take a tender to shore. Then up and ready for our first outing of the day.
The drive to the Mountain Lake and Eagle’s Pass were quite beautiful, and a little edgy as we were going up switchbacks on mountain roads that seemed barely two lanes wide. In fact, we saw the original road which was only about one lane wide, built in the 1880’s, and learned that it was such a feat of engineering that it won a gold medal at the 1890 Paris international exhibition. Our bus driver was local so he clearly knew exactly how to do this, including passing other buses and backing up a few times to allow another bus to pass. We stopped first at an overlook which gave a wonderful view of Geiranger, which climbs the mountain, and the town has only 250 year-round residents, but welcomes 300 cruise ships a year and a hundred thousand or more who come with campers and RVs. We then ascend to the Mountain Lake, which has a small cafe and shop, and looks over the mostly still-frozen lake. Barney ventures out onto the snowy ice for a photo, and we learn that people do back-country cross-country skiing here, using the fur-bottomed skis to climb and then ski down. Even the ski down seems beyond my skills. Here above tree line is a very different, more barren landscape than below at sea level. On the drive down, we learn that the walls of the fjord are at about 6,000-6,500 feet, like Crane Flat in Yosemite. Out final stop is Eagle’s Pass, a spectacular lookout which has a glassed cover where a waterfall comes out underneath the viewing area. Up and down is a really winding road, with 11 hairpin turns, and again our river was excellent. Then back to the ship, and got some quick open-faced (Smørebrød) sandwiches and changed into our foul weather gear.
Our next adventure was kayaking. We got conflicting advice about what to wear, so we had opted for long underwear (though it was upper 50s) and waterproof pants and jackets. We started to the other side of Geiranger, but we were stopped for about 30 minutes as a rescue helicopter blocked the narrow road. We finally got to the kayaking place, and got into our life vests and kayak skirts. I had not thought to check the setting of the toe blocks, so it turned out that I could not reach it, which made paddling a bit harder. It was beautiful being on the water, and we kayaked by small cottages and waterfalls, crossing the fjord twice, and hardly getting wet at all. Then back again to the ship by bus - our bus driver lives in Geiranger year-round, and even showed us his house on the hill.
We decided to try the thermal suite in the spa, part of which was gender-specific. First there was a sauna, then a tepid pool which were nice (Barney skipped the sauna and pool on the men’s side). We met then at the warm pool which had quite a jacuzzi force, and this felt good after kayaking. Two interesting features of this area were the cold bucket of water poured over your head and the accompanying incredible warm shower, and the best part, the snow grotto. The snow grotto was a small room filled with snow and a couple rock seating areas. It was quite cold and Barney did not stay long, but I rather liked it. Then back to the room to clean up and shower off the salt water from kayaking.
In the evening, before dinner, we went to the bow of the ship to watch the departure from Geiranger. It was truly spectacular, and we were able to see both sides of the fjord. It was windy but not that cold, so we stayed out quite a long time. Later we went to dinner in the World Cafe which had a bit of a seafood festival on - I tried King Crab legs, Norwegian prawns, tiger prawns, green lip mussels, aquavit-marinated scallops, and of course sushi. I tried it all, which was nice - I realized how much butter and sauces add to the taste of seafood, as without those (which I deliberately did not take) they are much more subtle. Barney enjoyed some carved lamb and we had a nice pistachio-raspberry cake for dessert. And then, back at the room, we did a load of laundry including our wet gear, so go that out of the way, out bathroom now covered in the clothes that could not go in the dryer. It is really nice that they have a laundry on every floor, and the washer has automatically dispensed soap (which probably also prevents guests from overusing soap or using the wrong kind). Tired, we both fell asleep on the couch, and before we went to bed, we took a last look at the fjord as we headed toward the open seas.
No comments:
Post a Comment